With the help of Mim Harrison's delightful book "Words at Work," let's go Dumpster diving and examine some jargon from the world of garbage collection ... er, "waste management."

If you still think of a garbage truck in the generic terms of your ...

Today, two random dispatches from the Word Front. First, "Talking the Walk"

"I am a slow walker," Abraham Lincoln once said, "but I never walk back."

If only today's politicians would follow honest Abe's example. Every day, it seems some public ...

Q. What's up with the noun "troop"? The definition of this word as I learned it and as defined by Merriam-Webster is "a group of soldiers." Yet, so frequently these days, I hear or read lines such as "three troops were injured today," with the ...

Q. Last year, we had a foreign exchange student from Germany stay with our family. When he wanted to challenge our boys to a video game, he would say he wanted to "verse" them. I have never heard of that form of "versus" being used that way. Now ...

Q. Could you please explain the difference between "flout" and "flaunt"? -- John Daigle, Vernon, Conn.

A. There's a difference? Just kidding, though the frequent misuse of "flaunt" for "flout" makes me suspect that the distinction between these ...

Q. Can you explain the origin of the word "subtle" and why the "b" is silent? Is there any other word that has a silent "b"? -- Joanne Anderson, New Britain, Conn.

A. At the risk of being not so subtle, I love the word "subtle" ! Why? ...